Ice-marking machine



R. M. PENNHIG.r ICE MARKING MACHINE- APPLICATION FILED DEC20| 1920.

Patented Feb. 2'1 1922.

JMW

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD M; PENNING, F CLAYTON', MISSOURI.

ICE-MARKING MACHINE.

Application filed December 20, 1920. Serial No. 432,024.

To all whom z't may concern:

Be it known that LRICHARD M. PENNING, a citizen of the United States, residing at Clayton, in the county of St. Louis and j State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Ice'- Marking Machilies, of which the followingis a specification.

My invention relates to ice-marking machines and has for its principal object to devise a machine that will operate auto matically and that will accurately mark blocks of ice or other materialswith transverse and. longitudinal grooves. The invention comprises a carriage provided with cutters or markers and arranged to be operated by the weight of the blocks of ice being marked. The invention further consists in the tool for cutting or marking the blocks; and it also consists in the parts and combinations of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, which form part of this specification and wherein like reference characters indicate like parts in the several views,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an ice-marking machine embodying my' invention, showing a block of ice thereon, the dot and dash lines indicating the location of the marks made by the cutters;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 2 -2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of one of the cutters; and

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the same.

A truck or carriage lis provided with lon-` gitudinally disposed plates or bars 2 adapted. to support a block of ice 3 and, in effect, constitutes part of an ice conveyor system. Said carriage has flanged or grooved wheels 4 which run on an inclined track 5. When the carriage 1 is at one end of the trackway 5, it is adjacent to the end of an ice conveyor 6 (in practice, the conveyor leading from the tank room) and in position to receive a block of ice from the conveyor, and when it is at the other end of the trackway, it is adjacent to another conveyor 7 (in practice, one leading to the storage room) and in position to discharge the block of ice thereon.

The carriage is provided with uprights 8, preferably angle irons, which are framed together at the top by framing members 9. Cutter bars 10 having grooves 11 in their ends which engage avflange of said uprights 8 are arranged at the sides of said carriage'. Cutters or marking tools 12, which will be hereinafter described, are secured to said cutter bars 10 in position to mark the block of ice 3 in the carriage. Similar cutters 12 are mounted on the uprights at the discharge end of the carriage.

Ropes or cables 13 secured. to eye-bolts 14 near the ends of the cutter bars 10 pass over sheaves 15 mounted on the longitudinal framing members 9. The ends of said cables 13 are secured to hooks 16 fastened to the wall 17 or to any suitable support. The cables 13 are provided with turnbuckles 18 whereby. they may be adjusted. llVhen the carriage is adjacent to the first conveyor 6, the cutter bars are slightly below the level of the lice supporting slats 2. A U-shaped stop bar 19 is provided at the discharge end of the carriage for holding the block ofy ice 3 thereon. The ends of said stop bar are pivotally secured to the longitudinal framing members 9 and the base. is preferably supported by a chain 20 or the like secured thereto and to a .framing member 9. Said bar has projecting portions`21 in position to be engaged by the cutter bars 10 near the end of their upward movement, whereby the stop bar 19 is raised to clearthe block of ice, 3

The cutter bars 10 are provided with` n cured the cutters 12', each of which comprises a piece of spring metal doubled on itself. Each cutter is provided with a cutting or grooving tool 24 near the free end thereof, and with longitudinal slots 25, through which project beveled wheels 26 which are journaled in a bearing block 27 attached to the back side of said cutter, as by screws 28. Obviously, the distance that these marking wheels 26 project can be regulated by inserting shims 27 between the cutter and the bearing block.

A lever 29 extends longitudinally of the carriage and is lpivotally secured to a crosspiece 30 arranged on the under side of said carriage. Said lever 29 has a hook 31 at the receiving end of the carriage. Near the discharging end of the carriage, said lever is bent upwardly and projects above the ice carrying bars at 32, in position to be depressed by a block of ice 3 on the carriage.

The end portion of said lever 33 is bent downwardly and a hook 3ft is pivotally secured thereto. i

The operation of the machine is as follows: f

Assuming that the carriage 1 is at the upperend of the inclined track 5, the hook 31 engages a cross-piece 35 provided therefor at the end of the conveyor 6. A block of ice 3 is discharged from the conveyor 6 onto the carriage, which is just large enough to accommodate it. `When the forward end of the block of ice 3 reaches the end of the carriage 1, it is engaged'by the stop bar 19 and prevented from leaving the carriage. The pressure ofthe ice on the projecting portion 32 of the lever disengages the hook 31 from its cross-piece 35, and the weight of the ice causes the carriage to travel down the inclined track. As the carriage travels, the cutter bars 10 are moved upwardly by reason of the fact that the ends of the cables 13 are iXed. As the cutter bars 10 move upwardly, the cutting tools 12 cut transverse grooves in the sides of the blocks of ice, as indicated by the dot-and-dash lines in Fig. 1 of the drawings. As the carriage nears thesecond conveyor 7, the cutter bars 12 engage the projections 21 on the stop bar 19 and raise said'bar, leaving the block of ice ree to slide Aoif the carriage. l/Vhen the carriage reaches the second conveyor, it strikes against a spring bumper 36 secured thereto. The second hook 34 engages a crosspiece 37 secured to the second conveyor 7 and prevents the carriage from moving back. The block of ice 3 now slides 0H the carriage, and as it does so, the cutters 12 on the uprights make longitudinal grooves therein. When the ice leaves the carriage and the pressure on the projecting portion 32 of the lever 29 is relieved, the weight of said lever causes the end thereof at the receiving end of the carriage to drop, raising the other end and releasing the hook 34, so that the carriage is free totravel backwards. The weight of the cutter bars causes the carriage to travel up the inclined track untilit reaches the conveyor` 6 and is in position to receive another block of ice.

The number and location of the cutters or marking tools may be changed at will to cut grooves inblocks of ice. The grooves ina block of ice facilitate the operation of cutting the block into pieces, as the ice tends to split along the grooves, and thus the size or weight of the pieces into which the block may be cut can be predetermined with a fair degree of accuracy in contrast with the guesswork now commonly prevalent.

It is obvious that changes may be made in the construction and arrangementdescribed without departing from my invention, and I do not wish to be limited to the precise construction shown.

What I claim is z- 1. A device for marking blocks 0f ice and `the likercoinprising a frame having scoring elements thereon, some of such elements beingstationary and located in position to score a groove in the block as it moves past them` and other of said elements being' movable in position to score said block transversely with relation to said first mentioned grooves, the movement of said last mentioned scoring elements being actuated by a block of ice on said frame. i

2. A device for marking blocks of ice and the like' comprising a guiding and supporting frame-having scoring elements thereon, some of such elements being fixed to said frame and adapted to score a groove in the block as it moves past them and other of said elements being movable with respect to said frame and adapted to score said block transversely with relation to said rst mentioned grooves, the relative movement of said last mentioned scoring elements being actuated by a block of ice on said frame.

3. Ardevice for marking blocks of ice and the like comprising a movable guiding and supporting frame having scoring elements thereon, some of such elements being fixed to said frame and adapted to score a groove in the block as it inbves past them and other oi' said elements being movable with respect to said `traine and means for actuating said movable elements to score said block transversely to said first mentioned grooves during the travel of said movable guiding and supporting frame, said actuating means comprising a block of. ice onsaid iframe.`

Il. A device for marking blocks of ice and the like comprising :i movable supporting and guiding frame, having scoring elements thereon, some of such scoring elements being fixed to said frame and adapted to sco-re a groove in the block asl it moves past them and other 'of said elements being movably mounted on said frame and adapted to be actuated .bymovement of said frame during its travel to score said block transversely to said first mentionedgrooves, a block of Vice thereon actuating the movement of Said iframe.

5. An inclined track, ice conveyors terminating at each end ofsaid track, a wheeledY carriage on said track adapted to receive a` block of ice from the conveyor at the upper end of said track and discharge it onto the conveyor at the lower end thereof, cutters on said carriage movable across the sides of said block of ice to niark transverse grooves therein and other cutters arranged on said carriage to cut longitudinal grooves in the sides of said block as it leaves the carriage.

6. An inclined track, ice conveyors terminating at each end of said track, a wheeled carriage on said track adapted to receive a block of ice from the conveyor at the upper iio end of said track and discharge it onto the conveyor at the lower end thereof, releasable means for holding said carriage in juxtaposition to said first mentioned conveyor until the -block of ice is entirely on said carriage, said means being released by the block of ice itself, cutters on said carriage movable across the sides of said block of ice to mark transverse grooves therein and other cutters arranged on said carriage to cut longitudinal grooves in the sides of said block as it leaves the carriage.

7. An inclined track, ice conveyors terminating at each end of said track, a Wheeled carriage on said track adapted to receive a block of ice from the conveyor at the upper end of said track and discharge it onto the conveyor at the lower end thereof, cutters on said carriage movable across the sides of said block of ice to mark transverse grooves therein and other cutters arranged on said carriage to cut longitudinal grooves in the sides of said block as it leaves the carriage, and means for returning said carriage tothe upper end of said track after the block of ice has been discharged.

8. An inclined track, a carriage thereon adapted to receive a block of ice, cutter carrying means mounted on said carriage so as to be movable across the surface of a block of ice on said carriage, and cutters on said carrying means, said carriage being set in motion by the wei ht of the block of ice and the movement of 51e carriage operating said cutter carrying means.

9. A carriage adapted to receive a block of ice and discharge 1t later, means for holding such block of ice thereon, cutters arranged to move across the face of such block of ice to mark grooves therein, and other cutters arranged on said carriage to mark additional grooves in said block of ice as it leaves said carriage.

10. A cutter for ice marking machines, comprising a strip of spring metal bent to substantially inverted U-form, said cutter having a cutting tool near one end thereof, and a plurality of slits adjacent to said cut-- ting tool, a bearing block secured to Said cutter and beveled Wheels pivotally mounted in said bearing block, said Wheels projecting through the slits in said cutter.

11. A cutter for ice-marking machines, comprisin a strip of spring metal bent to substantie. ly inverted U-orm, said cutter having a scorin device near one end thereof, and a plura ity of slits adjacent to said scoring device, and beveled Wheels pivotally disposed on said cutter, said wheels projectin through said slits therein.

igned at St. Louis, Mo., this 18th day of December, 1920.

RICHARD M. PENNING. 

